With automatic weapons, in which the discharge takes place with the aid of electrical triggering, it is known to modify the cadence (i.e., cadence fire, individual shots, etc.) according to predefined conditions by means of an appropriate device. In other words, the “cadence” of an automatic weapon is defined as its fire speed or rate of fire.
With known weapon systems, it has been found to be a problem that barrel oscillations can occur at certain cadences (also referred to below as “resonant cadences”) that lie below the natural cadence of the weapon predefined by the inertia of the action of the automatic weapon. When such resonant cadences occur, relatively high divergences can result in the dispersion pattern, wherein although the respective first shot hits the target on the line of sight, all the following shots frequently lie outside the range of tolerance.
Therefore, if the customer for such a weapon requires a cadence (i.e., firing speed) at which barrel oscillations occur, a shift of the resonance frequency of the weapon barrel and, thus, of the resonant cadence of the weapon has hitherto been undertaken by stiffening the barrel mount or the barrel (for example, by fixing the barrel muzzle). However, these measures are associated with high construction costs and, as a rule, lead to an increase in the weight of the weapon and in the space needed for the weapon. Moreover, after such construction modifications have been carried out, a fresh testing of the weapon and, as a rule, also a new approval of the weapon by a responsible authority is required.
The object of the invention is to provide a cost-effective method with which it is possible to maintain predefined target tolerances of an automatic weapon even in the range of prevailing resonant cadences. Moreover, a device for carrying out this method is also described.